Electric cloth-cutting machine.



No. 678,263. `Patented Iuly 9, |90I.

' R. E. LEVE.

ELECTRIC CLOTH CUTTING MACHINE.

(no MSNM.) (Application led Feb. 8, 1901.) 2 sheets-she I.

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no. 678,263. Patented my 9, lam.

n. E. LEvE.

ELECTRIC CLUTH CUTTING IIAGHINE.

(Applicntnn Bled leb. 8, 1901.) (No Mudd.) T

2 sheets-sheet-z. y

WITNESSES: Z E @um Q. Awww@ UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

ROBERT E. LEVE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ELECTRIC-*CLOTHiCUTTING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 678,263, dated July' 9, 1901.

Application filed February 8, 1901. Serial No. 46,518. (No model.)

To rif/ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT E. LEvE, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the borough ofManhattan and State 51 of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Cloth-Outting Machines, of which the following is a specification. p

My invention relates to electric cloth-cut- Io ting machines, by which a great many layers of cloth may be cut out simultaneously according to the patterns required for the garments to be made.

The objects of the' invention are to provide a machine of the said class by which through the act of grasping the handle to push the machine along the cutting-blade will be automatically reciprocated at a high speed; also, to provide a cutting-blade which zo makes a clean cut through the cloth without frayingout the edges, this being accomplished by imparting only a short reciprocating motion to the cutting-blade, so that its lower end preferably does not rise above the lower layer of cloth, and also to provide the handle with a special switch which is automatically closed by the act of grasping the handle. The machine is also durable, practical, and highly efficient and is so constructed that various 3o forms of knives or cutting-blades may be used.

With these ends in view my invention consists, first, of an electric cloth-cuttin g machine which comprises a base-plate adapted to move under the layers of cloth, a standard rising 3 5 from said base and provided with side guideplates, a motor supported by a frame carried by the standard, a reciprocating carrier connected with the motor and supporting a cutting blade which is guided between said 4c guide-plates, said cutting-blade moving into a slot in the base-plate and preferably having a motion no greater than the thickness of the plate, a handle on the motor-frame, and means for operating said motor.

The invention further consists of removable guide-plates for the cutting-blade attached to the standard and provided with beveled or knife edges for entering into the cut made in the cloth and clearing the way for the 5o easy passage of thestandard,the guide-plates,

and the cutting-blade through the layers of cloth.

but capable of completing the electric circuit by the pressure of the hand of the operator, thereby again putting the cutting device in motion, the said connection being automatically broken when the pressure of the handv is removed, thereby stopping the motion of the cutting device.

The invention consists, further, of an adjustable upright supported on the frame of the machine and provided with a presser-foot at its lower end and a guard-plate suitably stayed and extending upwardly from the toe of the presser-foot; and the invention further consists of certain details of construction and combinations ofl parts to be hereinafter describedin detail and then pointed out in the claims.

In order that my invention may be more fully understood, I will now proceed to describe the same with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a side elevation of my improved electric cloth-cutting machine. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same, showing portions of the base-plate and guard-plate broken away. Fig. 2. Fig. 4. is an enlarged longitudinal section of the handle, showing the switch. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view showing a modification. Fig. 6 is a transverse section of Fig. 5 online 6 6; and Fig.7 is a detail view of a portion of the standard with the outer guide-plate removed and the detachable inner guide-plate,which may be straightedged, as shown in full lines, when used as Fig. 3 is a cross-section on line 3 3, i l

in Fig. 2, or it may have rounded cuttingn `of teeth which the cutting-blade may be provided with.

Similar letters of reference indicate corre'- sponding parts throughout the drawings.

The base-plate A of the machine slantsat top to either or all sides, but preferably toward the front lifting edge a, so that at the place from which the fixed standard B rises the base-plate is thickest. Bolted or otherwise suitably secured to the upper end of the standard B is a block C, above which is a block C, both of which blocks are on the m0- tor-casing D and, together with the same, form the frame of the machine. The motor d is inclosed within the casing D, and being of any well-known and serviceable type is not illustrated in detail.

Eindicates the reciprocating cutting-blade, which moves within guide-plates F F, forming a part of and attached to one side of the standard B. As shown in detail in Fig. 7, the inner guide-plate F, which is attached directly against the rabbeted inner side of the standard B, is provided with'two or`more steady-pinsf, which, as shown in Fig.'3, enter corresponding holes in the saidstandard, said plate F being firmly ixed to the standard by means of countersunk screwsf2. EFixed to standard B by means ofcountersunk screws f3, which enter behind the rabbetgroovef in which the plate `F is seated, is the other guide-plate F', which is separated'at a snit#l able distance from the plate F, so as topro-` vide a groove or space in which the-cuttingblade E may reciprocate. The lower `end'of; the cutting-blade is provided, as s'howniby` dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 7, with `a longit'n dinal slot f 5, through which the lower steady-f` pin fpasses, as well as through the plate'F, as stated. The front edges of the guide-plates- F 4F are knife-edged or'beveled, and lthei` sharpened edge of the cutting-blade proje`cts a suitable distanceibeyond the same, 'solthati` it can form a clean cut through the clot-h. l

G indicates the blade-carrier,which is adapt ed to reciprocate in the blocks or ears C C ong the motor-casing D and which is provided'withf a split clamp g, into which the upper end off the cutting-blade`-E is inserted andwsecure'd; by aset-screw e, whereby through the medi-um of the pin-and-slot connection at f5 the cutting-blade is moved in Va longitudinal path.fy The blade-carrier Grl is providedwith a trans-, verse chamfered gnideway g for a slide-block@ g2, which receives a crank or wrist pin h onf the head ordisk h', attached directly on thef end of the'armatureshaft D. Through'thej' -medium vof the described connection of the arm ature-shaft with the blade-carrier a directA thrust landpull is imparted tothe cutting' blade, as lthere is no lost motion and nov unnecessary connections, the wrist-pin acting directly in linevwith the cutting-blade itself.l

I I' indicate the leading-infwires, running from-a handle J, fixed to thebottom ofthe motor-'casing by means of ascrew oriscrews l7","which pass through the shank j. The wires I'I'are led through the inner en'd ofvthehan;l dle and are connected with contacts'-`7c,-xed ou the bottom of a deep longitudinalrecess 7c', formed in the wooden or other'n'on-cou^A ducting handle i. (See Fig. 4.) A movable member or non-conducting handle J', which forms a portion of the handle, moves within and corresponds to the said recess 7c', it being forced outwardly by means of helical or other springs k2, confined within the recess against keepers 7c3, projecting from the handle inwardly over the ends of the said movable member. On firmly grasping the handle the movable member will yield to the pressure. Knife-contacts care secured to the inner side of the movable member, so as to oppose the ixed contacts k and to form contact therewith when the movable member is pressed in, thereby forming a switch and closing'the electric circuit, the current for which is supplied in any suitable Amanner from the maiuconducting-Wires 1213, leading from any suitable source of'e'lectric power. The wires l2 I3 are led through the inner end of the handle and connected with the movable contacts 751.

A slot or recess Z is formed in the base-plate A just below the guide-plates F IF,'in which the lower end of the cutting-blade E moves, said blade preferably never leaving Athe upper surface of thebase-plate, so that its lower extremity cannotpass above the lower layer of cloth. The motion imparted tothe cutting-blade by the means for converting the rotary motion offthe armature into the reciprocating motion of the said cutting-blade is preferably so limited that thelower end of the blade simply moves up and down in the slot Z.

yFor holding'the Alayers of cloth down the machinefisprovided witha slotted presserfoot M,Athe Itoes m of ywhich are turned-up, so as not to catch ou the top layer of cloth, said presser-'foot being -'\'ertically adjustable by means of' a supporting bar'or upright N, to

whichlit is-se`cured,and the latter being in turn secured rigidly tothe blocksl on ears C -C Aby a thumb-screw fn, which passes through a =longitudinal slot In in theisad bar. The

IOO

IIO

openingin the presser-foot receives thestandard and contiguous side parts.

L-To protectvthe hands-against injury by the cuttinglblade,.aguard-plate' O -is attached at tslower end to the toe of the presser-foot M, extends vupwardly in yfront of the cuttingblade, and is attached yat its upper -end to the upper end of the upright orbarN.

A modification -isshown inl Figs. l5 and 6, in

l'whichfa -cuttingbladeEQ which -is -supplied with aseries of curved or scalloped teeth Ve',

-is substituted for theL blade E, while'for the' guide-plateF a guard-plate F2, which is provided with corresponding' teeth c2, 4is `substituted, said guard-plate F2` beingw-i'der than the guide-platefF, so that the teeth thereof Awilllie-alongside the-teeth of the 'cutting-V blade, whereby thesaid teeth eombineto prodnceia shearcut.

"The rolativewidth of the plates F landiF2 l'are indicated, respectively, by full and dotted -lin'es'i-u Fig.7. OfA coursel other shapes of Vlteeth maybeuse'd as may be found lbest suited for the kind of cloth to be cut.

Y motor.

To operate the machine, the operator iirmly grasps the handle J, so as to close the electric circuit through the action of the switch formed by movable member J and contacts 104, the current flowing around the armature and imparting a reciprocating motion to the cutting-blade E so long as the proper pressure on the said movable member is maintained. The cutting-blade having now been set in motion, the front edge d of the baseplate is moved along the table and under the layers of cloth to be cut, the operator still pressing the machine forward and carefully following the lines laid out on the cloth, so that the cutting edge of the blade will cut out the proper shape. When the cloth has been cut, the operator relaxes his grasp on the handle, so that the circuit may be automatically broken and the motion interrupted.

The described cloth-cutting machine is under the full control of the operator and can be quickly started and stopped, the same being accomplished in a sense automatically, as the very act of tightly grasping the handle to push the machine along to the work starts the It is evident that a switch can be arranged on the handle which is non-automatic.

While I have shown and preferably construct a cloth-cutting machine in which the cutting-blade does not rise above the baseplate, I do not restrict myself to the same, as it is possible to use the other new features of my invention with a cutting-blade which has a certain movement above the base-plate.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is l. In an electric cloth-cutting machine, the combination of a movable supporting-frame, a cutting device mountedthereon, an electric motor connected with the cutting device, a

stationary handle, and a movable part or member carried by the handle provided with a connector normally out of contact with the electric connection through which the operating-current iiows, thereby arresting the motion of the cutting device, but capable of completing the electric circuit by the pressure of the hand of the operator, thereby putting the cutting device in motion, the said connection being automatically broken when the pressure of the hand is removed, thereby stopping the motion of the cutting device, substantially as set forth.

2. In an electric cloth-cutting machine, the combination of a base-plate adapted to move under the layers of cloth, a standard provided with a guide, a frame supported by the stand ard, a motor in the frame, and a reciprocating cutting-blade suitably connected at its upper end with the motor and received in said guide, said base-plate having a slot, receiving the free lower end of the cutting-blade, and said cutting-blade having a motion no greater than the thickness of the plate, so that the said end of the cutting-blade does not rise above the base-plate, substantially as set forth.

3. In an electric cloth-cutting machine, the combination of a base-plate adapted to move under the layers of cloth, a standard mounted on the base-plate, removable guide-plates spaced at a suitable distance apart and secured to the standard, one of said plates being fixed against the standard in a rabbet-v groove thereof, while the other is xed directly against the side of the standard, asingle reciprocating cutting-blade guided in the space between said removable guide-plates, and an electric motor connected with said cutting-blade, substantially as set forth.

4. In an electric cloth-cutting machine, the combination of a movable supporting-frame, an electric motor, a crank-pin on the shaft of the motor, a reciprocating carrier guided in the frame and provided with a transverse guideway, a slide guided in the guideway and provided with a hole for receiving said crankpin, and a cutting-blade attached to said carrier in a plane with the crank-pin so as to receive the direct thrust and pull of said crankpin, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ROBE-RT E. LEVE;

Witnesses:

GEO. L. WHnnLocK, PAUL GOEPEL. 

